Sideways

Best-selling author Matthew Syed explores the ideas that shape our lives with stories of seeing the world differently.

Radio 4,110 episodes

Episodes

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Small Giants
Shrinking down the things that matter most, to something we can hold in our hand.
15 Jul 2026,29 mins
Returning Soon
Sideways returns with eight new stories of seeing the world differently.
08 Jul 2026,3 mins
The Talent Trap
A conductor walks away from a life built on decades of honing her talent.
25 Mar 2026,28 mins
The Hands of Forgiveness
An act of forgiveness sets off a chain of events that alters the life of one woman.
18 Mar 2026,28 mins
Absurdity on Toast
A young man is arrested in his home, and his ordinary life turns absurd.
11 Mar 2026,28 mins
Dangerous Ideas
Matthew Syed considers whether some ideas are simply too dangerous to explore.
04 Mar 2026,28 mins
Scream Queen
A metal singer reveals how letting out her scream transformed her life.
25 Feb 2026,29 mins
The Story My Sister Told Me
How one childhood story helped change the course of many lives.
18 Feb 2026,29 mins
Broody Men
Matthew Syed challenges assumptions about male desire to have a baby.
11 Feb 2026,28 mins
The Scientist and the Miracle
Matthew Syed considers whether miracles can be compatible with scientific thinking.
04 Feb 2026,28 mins
Hide and Seek
What’s the real appeal of secret societies? Mystery, belonging or something else entirely?
03 Sep 2025,28 mins
Crazy Cat Lady
Why does a childless woman with cats cause such cultural panic? Matthew Syed investigates.
27 Aug 2025,28 mins
When Time Slows Down
Matthew Syed asks if slow-motion experiences suggest the way we think of time is illusory.
20 Aug 2025,28 mins
Me, Myself and Mine
What does it mean to own your body - and is that even the right question to ask?
13 Aug 2025,28 mins
Inventing a Language
Matthew Syed explores our extraordinary capacity to invent new systems of communication.
06 Aug 2025,29 mins
Chasing Peace
3. Peace Reimagined
Matthew Syed explores the case for radically non-violent solutions to conflict.
30 Jul 2025,28 mins
Chasing Peace
2. A Peace that Lasts
The path to peace is hard to find. We meet people with radical ideas on how to get there.
23 Jul 2025,28 mins
Chasing Peace
1. Wired for War?
Our long struggle with peace raises the question - are humans wired for war or for peace?
16 Jul 2025,28 mins
Chasing Peace
Trailer
Is true peace actually possible?
09 Jul 2025,4 mins
Reliving History
Matthew Syed explores the power and potential of re-enacting the past.
26 Feb 2025,29 mins
Limitless Love
Matthew Syed explores the human capacity for limitless love.
19 Feb 2025,28 mins
Tempting Fate
Matthew Syed questions the consequences of tempting fate.
12 Feb 2025,29 mins
Digital Ghosts
Matthew Syed explores the ethical boundaries around using AI to create digital ghosts.
05 Feb 2025,28 mins
Memento Mori
Matthew Syed confronts the passage of time and the inexorability of decay.
29 Jan 2025,29 mins
Bliss in Suffering
Matthew Syed ponders the possibility of experiencing bliss in the midst of suffering.
22 Jan 2025,29 mins
Reality Shifting
Matthew Syed explores the nature of reality and the possibility of its hidden layers.
15 Jan 2025,29 mins
25 Years of the 21st Century
5. The Age of Artificial Intelligence
Matthew interviews the "Godfather of AI", Geoffrey Hinton.
10 Jan 2025,28 mins
25 Years of the 21st Century
4. The Age of Changing Families
What is technology doing to something as human as forming relationships?
09 Jan 2025,28 mins
25 Years of the 21st Century
3. The Age of Outsourcing
Have we outsourced our memories to our phones?
08 Jan 2025,28 mins
25 Years of the 21st Century
2. The Age of Mistrust
Have we lost faith in institutions, politicians - and even money?
07 Jan 2025,28 mins